Have you ever listened to a presentation that just didn't sound right? Yes, the language was accurate and there was some information or some organization but it all came across as too formal. And maybe too much like this person was just reading from a book instead of giving a presentation. Sometimes this can happen because a presenter may be trying to do just that. They may have memorized, or even be reading from what was originally written for a reader to read, not for a presentation to an audience who will be watching and listening. The problem in this scenario is that there are differences between written and spoken English. So readers and listeners expect different things. Say for example, you wanted to convey the information in a business report to your superiors. Simply reading the report to your audience would be deafly boring for this audience. Instead, you as the presenter need to think about how to give this presentation of the information. To do this you should be aware of some of the general things you should change when converting written information into a spoken presentation. In this video, I'll introduce you to five general elements that you can look at when comparing these two forms of communication. So between written communication and spoken communication. So the objective of this lecture would be that at the end, you are able to identify these five elements so you can properly adjust your use of language and organization depending on the type of communication you will be using. So first, let's compare written and spoken English. There are five general elements you can look at when you're comparing the two different kinds of communication. They are word choice, the use of discourse, the use of discourse markers, how to really paragraph or group ideas, the use of topic sentences and sentences in general really in terms of their length and sentence complexity. So let's talk about word choice first. Generally speaking, word choice is much more colloquial in spoken English, though really this depends on the level of formality of the speech that you're giving. If you're giving a relatively informal presentation, you would be more likely to use contractions. Such as can't instead of cannot, you use phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs are also used in a more causal spoken English so you might use a phrasal verb like ran into, such as a sentence like I ran into John. So these contractions and phrasal verbs wouldn't really appear in a formal presentation but they do make presentations sound more natural and can help you to engage your audience sometimes. This really depends on the context, purpose and audience you're presenting to. Next, let's talk about the use of modal items specifically verbs. There are some elements of spoken English vocabulary that are really important to note. For example, in a persuasive speech you may use more modal items. Modal items are those which carry meaning related to the degree of certainty or really necessity. Modal items include words like modal verbs, such as can, could, may, must, will, and should, such as maybe I could go to the meeting. Next, let's talk about the modal items, specifically, adjectives. So model adjectives are those such as possible and certain. We could use these in a sentence like, what is the possible outcome? You could also use modal adverbs. So modal adverbs are those like clearly, rarely, occasionally, such as in the sentence, I rarely go to the city. We also use modal items like modal nouns. Modal nouns are words like necessity, chance, likelihood, and possibility. Such as in the sentence there is a possibility I will go. So in word choice, modal items often represent speaker's attitude and stance towards the content that you're communicating. So if I were going to present information that was originally from a written report to something I would present in a spoken presentation, it would be much more natural sounding if I included some contractions or phrasal verbs. I might also consciously use some modal verbs, nouns, or adjectives to communicate how I felt toward the content, I was presented. Next I'd like to talk about discourse markers. So discourse markers are words or phrases that sign post speech or written text. We use them in both modes of communication. Using this kind of sign posting helps us to join ideas together, shows our attitude towards what we're communicating, and/or can indicate a connection from what is being said or written to a wider meaning in the speech or text. Though discourse markers generally don't really add new meaning. So we'll talk about discourse markers in speech. So discourse markers in speech do, sorry, discourse markers do appear in written text but they're much more frequent in spoken English. Common discourse markers include well, now, then, you know, I mean, so, because, but, and actually. The overall function of these markers is to help the listener know how to interpret what I'm saying as a speaker and to follow along with the presentation or speech. We use discourse markers, most often to mark the beginning or end of a speech. Mark a grammatical structure by placing it at the beginning or end of a clause or at the start of a recorded speech. To mark information that's new to the speech or presentation or to mark the start of a new topic. To show how the speaker feels about what they are about to say or about what they have already said. To check that this listener is following along. To create solidarity and connection with the listener and really to appeal to the listener for understanding. So here's a summary, if we think back to the scenario of taking information from a written report and presenting it in a spoken presentation, you would most likely be using more discourse markers in your spoken presentation then you would in your report. In order to help the listener to follow along and really interpret what you're saying in your presentation. Next, let's talk about paragraphing and how we group ideas. So another element that's different between spoken and written communication is how we paragraph or group ideas. When we speak, it's extremely difficult to actually speak in paragraph. Instead we speak in more unstructured ways and instead we organize the content of our speaking around the meaning of what we're saying and the presentation will probably have a clear introduction and conclusion. But within the content or body of the presentation we would organize what we're saying based on main ideas. First presenting one main idea then another. Next, let's talk about topic sentences and sentence structure. So really, this brings me to another element that's quite different between written and spoken English. Similar to paragraphing, using topic sentences is more of a feature related to written English. The purpose of a topic sentence is to help organize or make clear the main idea of a paragraph. So in spoken English, we'd be much more likely to use a discourse marker to help the listener know that we're about to transition to a new idea. Actually sentences in general are different if you compare written and spoken English. When we speak, we tend to use shorter sentences or at times our sentences might be incomplete or even ungrammatical in spoken English. But since we continue speaking, it's less likely we're going to be able to go back and make the kinds of corrections or add complexity, then it would be if we were writing and could edit. So let's do a little bit of a recap. I hope by the end of this video, you feel more able to identify the different elements that creates some of the key differences between spoken and written communication. Remember these elements when you're preparing for presentation or writing a report. And also remember that you need to adapt your language to match the format of your communication in general, be it written or spoken. [BLANK]
